Description

Ernest Jones was a born empire builder, who imported the intellectual ferment of early twentieth-century European analysis to our shores. In 1938 he daringly flew to Vienna to rescue Freud from the Nazi threat. With the media frenzy that greeted Freud's arrival in England, psychoanalysis hit the mainstream. When Jones subsequently wrote the definitive, three-volume biography of his mentor, Freud's trailblazing reputation was secured.

Jones himself was a remarkable man, mercurial and quixotic. The son of a colliery clerk in South Wales, his insinuation into the inner circle of psychoanalysis is an improbable story. Likewise, the devastating, if dubious, sexual success he enjoyed with female patients caused intrigue among his contemporaries. As Jones's analytic reputation reached new heights, rumours as to what Freud dubbed his 'dark inconsistencies' grew.

Award-winning biographer Brenda Maddox insightfully and gracefully breathes life into this enigmatic character. Freud's Wizard is a riveting resurrection of a critical, heretofore overlooked, architect of our modern intellectual landscape.show more

Review quote

'A good introduction to the turbulent and often strange beginnings of psychoanalysis' * Hanif Kureishi, The Observer * 'The "dark inconsistencies" of Jones's sexuality perplexed Freud, who did not have the benefit of this biography to aid his understanding of a quirkily quixotic intellectual and emotional adventure.' * Iain Finlayson, The Times * 'Our best biographer of the ones that got away, has uncovered another brilliant subject' * Norman LeBrecht, Evening Standard * 'Maddox's lesson of [Jones'] useful, compromised life is an object lesson in biographical advocacy. She speaks well for the slippery Jones, and makes me wish I had met him' * Norman Lebrecht * 'Brenda Maddox has a gift for tangential approaches. She hits on an angle that has been missed, or she unearths a minor figure who leaps to life irresistible as she writes. She has done it again with Ernest Jones, Freud's disciple and biographer... Maddox pulls no punches in dealing with either the wizard or his master, and she kept me entertained from start to finish with the very odd story she has to tell' * Claire Tomalin, Guardian * 'Brenda Maddox tells Ernest Jones's story with economy and verve, mixing relevant details of his personal life with brilliant insights into the history of psychoanalysis' * Andrew Lycett, Literary Review *show more

About Brenda Maddox

Brenda Maddox was born and brought up in the USA and has been resident in the UK since 1960. She was educated at Harvard, where she studied English Literature, and at LSE. \n \nShe is a biographer of international repute. Nora: the life of Mrs James Joyce was translated into eight languages, was awarded the LA Times Prize for Biography and was shortlisted for the Whitbread. \nThe Married Man: A Life of DH Lawrence won the Whitbread Prize for Biography. George`s Ghosts was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize. Her most recent biography is about Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA. \n \nShe is married to John Maddox the former editor of Nature magazine and has four children.show more

Rating details

34 ratings

3.97 out of 5 stars

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29% (10)

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44% (15)

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21% (7)

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